GB2263147A

GB2263147A - "joining together elements of a furniture construction system"

Info

Publication number: GB2263147A
Application number: GB9200393A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George Wilbert Samuel Scott
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-01-09
Filing date: 1992-01-09
Publication date: 1993-07-14
Also published as: GB9200393D0

Abstract

This invention relates to the construction of office and modern home furniture by an assembly process which involves the use of several different connecting and bridging elements which in practice will normally be made of light alloy metal. The basic load transmission elements of the furniture construction system are joined together directly by means of one capscrew and where rotation about this screw is prevented by the provision of dowels in dowel holes in the surfaces to be connected; or indirectly through short or long beams in a similar manner; or the elements may be each capscrew and dowel connected to a polygonal hub. After the selected elements have been assembled into the desired shape of furniture the resulting unit can then be clad or topped with functional items such as glass table tops, office desk slabs and suspended drawers and filing cabinets.

Description

OFFICE FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM This invention relates to the construction of office and institutional furniture by a connection or assembly process which only involves the use of ten different bridging elements together with common items such as bolts and threaded rods.

Office and institutional furniture construction has passed from the carpenterts workshop to the processes of mass production and in doing so it has embraced the the concept of connected modules,which could be constructed of wood, plastic or metal,where each module in its turn was a self-contained unit which formed part of the final assembly of modules representing the required furniture. Later advances in the manufacturing process still held to the modular idea but the design was changed so that the basic sheets of each module,usually faced chipboard,could easily be clipped together to produce the assembled module thus allowing the units to be shipped and sold as Slat assemblies in cardboard cartons.Although the mod ular unit design of furniture has many advantages of scale in its production it has basically been restricted to the domestic trade and is still considered to be at the bottom end of the quality table. There is a need for a modular concept in the high class,heavy duty furniture trade which serves offices and institutions and this is unlikely to be met by the use of box modules of various sizes which clip together to produce wLat is tantamount to DIY furniture.In the innovation ues^rived ,ierein Une modular concept is applied to the frame of the furniture,ana not to individual box units,so with as little as ten basic elements it is possible to construct an extremely large variety of load bearing furniture frames which allows the user to equip his area in his own individual style.

Therefore according to the present invention there is provided a series of furniture construction elements which can be assembled into furniture frames which,in their turn, can be clad,topped or wired to suit the individual purposes required.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich: Figure 1 is an elevation of a straight load transmission constructional element.

Figure 2 is an elevation of an angular load transmission constructional element.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a constructional element in the form of a short beam.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a constructional element in the form of a long beam.

Figure 5 is a plan and elevation of a blanking or table cap.

Figure 6 is a plan and elevation of an element as a foot or as a table support.

Figure 7 is a plan and elevation of a constructional element as an octagonal hub.

Figure g is a plan and elevation of a shrouded and threaded connecting rod.

Figures 9-13 illustrate constructional elements which can be united to produce shelves for filing papers or to make swivel platforms for telephones or YDU' s.

Figure 13a illustrates the use of Figures 9 to 13 in the construction of a filing shelf and telephone base.

Figure 14 illustrates the use of the constructional elements in producing a chair with Figure 15 as a spreader plate.

Figures 16 and 17 are illustrations of tubes used to produce the backs of chairs to support the body and carry canvas,leather or other support seat.

Figure 18 is a plan and elevation of rubber or plastic plugs to fit and stopper unused holes in the system after final construction.

Figures 19 to 34 are skeletal example diagrams of the type of furniture which can be produced from the described elements and in these depictions the elements are labelled to refer to the previous Figure numbers.

Referring to the drawings the furniture construction system comprises basic load transmission elements 1 and 2 which can be joined together by means of one capscrew 3 and where subsequent rotation about this screw is prevented by the provision of dowels which fit holes 4. In every case in this system the element jointing is accomplished by the use of one cap screw and dowels. In another joint embodiment the elements 2 can be bolted to the hub of Figure 7 in order to produce the desk and table assemblies of Figures 26 to 28. In yet another variation the elements 1 and 2 can be joined through the short or the long beams of Figure 3 and Figure 4 to yield the frames of the table and desk assemblies of Figures 29 to 32.

'rne system is extremely versatile and an idea of the number and types of furniture frames which can be evolved from these few elements can be gauged from the outline sketches of Figures 19 to 34 where the individual components are labelled according to the previous Figure numbers. In all cases the cap screws which bolt the elements together are "off the shelf" components of 8 mm thread and the dowels are also Smm diameter. When the desired shape of frame has been assembled it can be converted into furniture by the use of table or desk tops in glass,wood or plastic composite and the sides of desks and benches can be clad by clip-on decorative vanity or modesty panels.In the case of modern office furniture designs it is simple to clip conduit to the formed frame in order to wire appropriate parts of the unit for power,VDU's or telephones. In association with these furniture frames, especially for office use, it is apparent that such systems will only be complete when they carry drawer, cupboard and filing packs and these are accomodated by the use of rods or fixing clips which pass through the unthreaded holes 5 in the elements 1 and 2. The use of such drawer packs is illustrated as dotted outlines in the Figures 19,20 and 21. The ends of each of the elements 1 and 2 are threaded to accept fobt and table supports and since these inserts are threaded it is a simple matter to level a large frame on a floor which is not exactly horizontal.

As working conditions and office routines changes the system can respond because it is not fixed and it can be added-to or re-assembled in a different shape to suit the new circumstances or the building. For example the Figure 25 shows how tables, stools or chairs can be joined together in continuous lengths wheras Figures 29 and 30 show how tables or conference furniture can be expanded in both length and width and lastly, as in Figure 31,it is possible to make conference tables which change in direction to suit the area allocated. Figures 33 and 34 illustrate how the item elements of Figure 9 to 13 are formed to produce the swivel or "lazy" arms for the provision of filing,telephone or VDU shelves.

Persons skilled in the art will realize that the design permutations of furniture frames from these few described elements is very large indeed and their use in furniture frame construction is only limited by the flair and ingenuity of the designer.

AEY TO FIGURES 19 to 34 Figure 19 Wide Desk Frame Figure 20 Narrow Desk Frame or Side Board Frame Figure 21 Figure 21 can yield Stacking Units Figure 22 Low Coffee Table Figure 23 Leather Topped Foot Stool or Otterman Figure 24 A Chair Figure 25 Tables,Chairs or Stools can be jointed in continuous lengths Figure 26 850 mm Diameter Table Top Figure 27 700 mm Square Table Top Figure 28 lOOOmm Diameter Table Top Figure 29 Long Conference Table Figure 30 Long and Wide Conference Table Figure 31 Shaped Conference Table Figure 32 Large Square Strengthened Work Table Figure 33 Desk or Bench fitted with Filing Shelf and Top Surface for Customer Use Figure 34 Desk or Bench with High Top and Swivel Arm for Phone or VDU

Claims

CLADtS 1. A furniture construction system comprises basic load transmission elements which can be joined together by means of one cap screw and where subsequent rotation about this screw is prevented by the provision of dowels or dowel holes in the surfaces to be connected.
2. A furniture construction system as in Claim 1 wherein the elements can be cap screw and dowel connected to an octagonal hub in order to provide floor standing units of up to eight legs for the basic frame of tables.
3. A furniture construction system as in Claims 1 and 2 wherein the elements can be cap screw and dowel connected through short and long beams in order to provide floor standing units for the frames of large tables in conference rooms and dining halls.
4. A furniture construction system as in any of the above Claims wherein the floor standing feet of any element can be adjustably connected for height and floor surface stability by the use of truncated cone shaped feet.
5. A furniture construction system as in any of the above Claims wherein the fixing holes on glass or laminate slab table tops can be finished-off and concealed with blanking or table caps.
6. A furniture construction system as in any of the above Claims wherein the elements can be capscrewed and dowel jointed as described so as to produce units and furniture as depicted in Figures 19 to 34.